Don’t talk about it, be about it!

In the first-ever report of its kind, Netflix addresses inclusion within the company which they say in turn allows for a more inclusive platform for audiences.

“Our work is internal first, it shows up in what we do externally,” said Vernā Myers, Netflix’s Vice President of Inclusion Strategy, in a short film that the company has released to showcase their findings. “If we’re creating the kinds of environments and policies and practices that not only invite people in but when they get in, they feel that there’s a level of investment in them, then we are going to see a real shift in our company and in the industries that surround us.”

Inclusion was added as a cultural value for the company in 2017 and Netflix reveals they “weren’t as great as we thought we were or aspired to be.”

In the short film, titled, “Sowing Seeds: Inclusion Takes Root At Netflix,” the company shares their latest strategies on diversity and inclusion not just in the consumer experience, but internally with new programs like their HBCU Virtual Tech Boot Camp, which provides scholarships to help diversify their workforce.

“This report will cover the work we do internally at Netflix,” continued Myers, “and it starts with being transparent about the numbers.”

Netflix reveals women make up half of their workforce (47.1%) which includes positions at the leadership level like directors and above (47.8%), vice presidents (43.7%), and senior leadership (47.6%).

According to the report, their “U.S. workforce (46.4%) and leadership (42.0%, director level and above) are made up of people from one or more underrepresented racial and/or ethnic backgrounds, that include Black, Latinx or Hispanic, Indigenous, Middle Eastern, Asian, and Pacific Islander backgrounds.”

Findings also determine that the number of Black employees in the U.S. has doubled for the company in the last three years to 8% of their workforce and 9% of their leadership (director level and above).

As they look to the road ahead, Myers shares that while the work they’ve done heartens her, they are “not yet done building the foundation.”

“We have so much more work to do,” she says as she lists off three areas of improvement that include doing a better job of recruiting Hispanic or Latinx and other underrepresented folks in all areas of the company, particularly leadership.

Myers also points out Netflix has a lot more to learn about topics of inclusion and representation outside of the U.S. which include areas of the world like the Asia Pacific and Latin America region.

Lastly, she shares that the continued process of measuring the company’s progress, and “inclusion health” is vital.

“The neutral period is over, we need the courageous period,” said Myers. “This work is not about perfection — it’s about vulnerability and unlearning as much as it is learning.”

Watch the full short film here: